1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to: an image display apparatus which allows a two-dimensional (2D) image to be displayed on a three-dimensional (3D) display device which is capable of displaying 3D images; an image displaying method; and a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of 3D display devices which present distinct images to the right eye and the left eye of a viewer to enable the perception of a depth dimension, methods are known which feature a parallax optics device provided in front of a display surface (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 10-229567). Such conventional techniques may employ, for example, the display surface of a stripe-type liquid crystal display apparatus as a display surface, and a parallax barrier as a parallax optics device.
A 3D display device which incorporates a stripe-type liquid crystal display apparatus and a parallax barrier may be suitably used for information appliances such as personal computers.
By nature, information appliances such as personal computers are required to handle 2D images as well as 3D images.
Conventionally, however, 3D display devices have only been used for the purpose of displaying 3D images. No attention has been paid for the realization of an ability to display a 2D image on a 3D display device. As used herein, a xe2x80x9c3D imagexe2x80x9d is defined as an image which allows a viewer to perceive a depth dimension. A xe2x80x9c2D imagexe2x80x9d is defined as an image which does not allow a viewer to perceive a depth dimension. Examples of 2D images include characters (e.g., alphanumerical characters).
By using an information-appliance incorporating a 3D display device, it has conventionally been impossible to handle processing of 2D images, e.g., edition of text information.
An image display apparatus according to the present invention includes: a 3D display device and a control section for controlling the 3D display device, wherein the control section obtains a drawing pattern corresponding to 2D image data, and displays the drawing pattern on the 3D display device, the drawing pattern being constructed in such a manner that when the drawing pattern is displayed on the 3D display device, the drawing pattern exhibits a pseudo color which is identical to a color which would be exhibited when the 2D image data is displayed by a 2D display device.
In one embodiment of the invention, the 3D display device includes a plurality of pixels, each of the plurality of pixels including a plurality of sub-pixels which are arrayed along a predetermined direction; a corresponding one of a plurality of color elements is previously assigned to each of the plurality of sub-pixels; and the control section independently controls the plurality of sub-pixels based on the drawing pattern.
In another embodiment of the invention, the 2D image data is black/white binary image data.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the drawing pattern is obtained by converting the 2D image data according to a predetermined rule.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the drawing pattern is obtained by converting the 2D image data to a binary drawing pattern and converting the binary drawing pattern to a multi-value drawing pattern.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the image display apparatus further includes a memory for storing the drawing pattern corresponding to the 2D image data; and the drawing pattern is obtained by reading the drawing pattern corresponding to the 2D image data as stored in the memory.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the image display apparatus further includes a memory for storing skeleton data representing a skeletal shape of the 2D image data; and the drawing pattern is obtained by generating the drawing pattern based on the skeleton data.
In still another embodiment of the invention, intensity of each of the plurality of color elements is representable by a plurality of stepwise color element levels; each of the plurality of sub-pixels has one of the plurality of color element levels; and the control section adjusts a line width of the drawing pattern by adjusting the number of sub-pixels to be set at a maximum color element level based on the drawing pattern.
In still another embodiment of the invention, intensity of each of the plurality of color elements is representable by a plurality of stepwise color element levels; each of the plurality of sub-pixels has one of the plurality of color element levels; and the control section adjusts a line width of the drawing pattern by adjusting the color element levels of a predetermined number of sub-pixels based on the drawing pattern.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided an image displaying method for displaying an image by using a 3D display device, including the steps of: obtaining a drawing pattern corresponding to 2D image data; and displaying the drawing pattern on the 3D display device, wherein the drawing pattern is constructed in such a manner that when the drawing pattern is displayed on the 3D display device, the drawing pattern exhibits a pseudo color which is identical to a color which would be exhibited when the 2D image data is displayed by a 2D display device.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording medium which is readable by a computer including a 3D display device and a control section for controlling the 3D display device, wherein the recording medium has recorded thereon a program for causing the control section to execute a process including the steps of: obtaining a drawing pattern corresponding to 2D image data; and displaying the drawing pattern on the 3D display device, wherein the drawing pattern is constructed in such a manner that when the drawing pattern is displayed on the 3D display device, the drawing pattern exhibits a pseudo color which is identical to a color which would be exhibited when the 2D image data is displayed by a 2D display device.
Thus, the invention described herein makes possible the advantages of: (1) providing an image display apparatus which allows a 2D image to be displayed on a 3D display device which is capable of displaying 3D images; (2) providing an image displaying method; and (3) providing a recording medium.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying figures.